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IFH 321: How to Prove Your Doubters Wrong

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In this episode, we discuss proving your doubters wrong. Proving to yourself that if you have a dream and you have some hustle then damn it you can do it. Why are people so scared of your success? We get into it. Enjoy!

Alex Ferrari 1:37
In today's episode, guys, I want to ask you how many times someone has told you you can't do something? How many times has a family member, a friend, a co worker, a stranger? A teacher tell you, you're not going to achieve that dream? You're not going to amount to anything in this life? How many times has that happened to you in your life? Now before you answer the question, a better question to answer first is, how many times have you believed it? How many times have you let that thought? consume your mind your thoughts, your actions? And worst of all your mindset? Because I'll tell you something, I've been told many times that Oh god, you're gonna be in the film business. How can you make a living doing that? That sounds crazy. Or even people who are in the film business go, Wait a minute, you're freelance, oh, my God, you don't have a steady paycheck? Aren't you scared? Or were like, what are you going to do? I don't think you're going to be able to make it Oh, my God, all of this kind of crap. I've heard all my life by small minded, very fearful, very scared little people. When someone says that to you, they're just saying that about themselves. It has nothing to do with you. They're so afraid of you possibly succeeding that makes them look bad. That hurts their little egos. So that's why they say things like that to you guys. That's why they say things like that to me. You know, many people said, What are you going to do? Oh, I'm launching a podcast, I'm going to open up a blog. And I'm going to try to help filmmakers. And even today, when I tell people what I do, I can even see it in their face, because they just don't understand. There's it's like, how do you make a living? Like how do you? How do you do things? Like how can you do that? Like it's baffling to them? To see what I've been able to do in my own life in my own career. Oh, and the best is when you tell them, oh, I made a movie for three grand or I made a movie for five grand. And it's world premiering over at the Chinese Theater this weekend. And they're like what, and that goes into what we talked about before haterade, an episode 319. But we won't get into that we talked enough about haterade about hating on people being bitter and angry. But I wanted to address this because I feel that there's so many tribe members out there who've been told again and again, that they can't do it. That it's too tough. That you don't live in Hollywood, you live in Ohio or you live in Bali or you live in in Mumbai or you live in the Sudan and you just are not able to make a living as a filmmaker or as a screenwriter or as a creative Because all artists are broke, right? There are a whole a whole episode about on that. And if you want to listen to real artists, real filmmakers don't starve. That episode I'm going to put in the show notes. Because it's such a good episode about the myth about the artists who's always starving and you can't make a living and all that stuff. It's crap. It's absolute crap. So understand, when people degrade your dream, tell you you can't do it. Oh, it's either them, projecting their own failures on you, or their inability to believe past their own mindset that anyone else could do something. Do you think that Robert Rodriguez, when he made El Mariachi was telling a whole lot of people that he was going to make a an action feature film for $7,000 back in 1989 9090, that he had to sell his body to science to raise the money that he was a lab rat in order to save the get the money to make his movie? That's insanity, right? Do you think that a young 17 year old director who becomes basically a mercenary and starts ghost writing short films and selling them on blogs to raise money to make his short film? Is that is that possible? That's Jonathan Perry, by the way, Episode 313. If I'm not mistaken, that hid that's his story. People would have told all these people, you can't do that. That's insane. How many people told James Cameron when he was about to make Terminator that you can't make a sci fi action movie? on a on a what I think it was a four or $5 million budget back in 1982. He was basically trying to make a studio movie at that budget range, I think it was even less than that. A sci fi action movie no less. Or that he's gonna make a movie about a bunch of blue people with technology that no one's ever heard of how many people said he'll never be able to make anything happen? How many guys understand that every artist, every filmmaker, every screenwriter, every every creative out there has always had someone waving their finger at them, saying, You're not going to make it. You're not going to get their kid. Your dream is too big. You're just that you don't have that you don't have the goods. You know, and I'm here to tell you this. I want you to prove them wrong. I want you to work so hard. and educate yourself so much and hustle. like no one's ever hustled before, to prove them wrong. Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players to ever play, the game was cut from his high school JV basketball team. Michael Jordan did. And what did he do? That was basically someone telling them, you're not gonna make a kid. So basically what they said, the coach said by not having him on the team, that you're not good enough to make it. So what did he do? He went all summer, and hustled and practice and trained and educated himself so much, that by the next year, when he came back, not only do they make the JV team, he made the senior varsity team. And the rest is they say is history. Everyone gets people saying you can't make it. It's only the ones that believe that that don't. Do you believe it? Do you believe that you're not capable of getting to where you want to be? Do you believe that your dreams are not achievable? Do you believe that you were put on this earth to have this yearning inside of you that will never be quenched? Seriously, do you believe that? Do you truly believe the universe is that? Do you truly believe that the universe is here to punish you and constantly berate you about this dream that you have? Well, if you do then you're right. But if you don't guess what, you're right as well. I don't believe the universe is out to get me. I believe the universe is here to help me. I believe that whatever I want to do in life will be achieved. Maybe not overnight. But one day if I keep Working hard and keep pushing and keep hustling, and keep educating myself. I will achieve whatever I want to achieve. Period. I always love that movie Rudy, which is a great movie about a student who wanted to be on the Notre Dame football team, the college football team. But he had no talent. He had no height, he had no strength, he had no size. He was not a football player. But his dream was to be on that field and play as an order Dame football player. And he did everything he was obsessed for years, to finally he got his shot, he worked so hard that he finally was able to get his opportunity. And he had two plays, just two plays, as in Notre Dame football player. And after his second play, the team carried him off the field. It's the only time in history that any player had been carried off the field. I want you to understand that dreams are wonderful. They're great. They're that fuel that is inside your soul that makes you get up in the morning and do things and move forward and, and have those that mission in life. I got to tell you, though, dreams do change. They shift they morph as you go on life. The dreams I had as a 19 year old or 20 year old film student. It's very different than the dreams I have now. As a almost 45 year old filmmaker. Are they similar? Yeah, I still want to make movies, I still want to make a living making movies. I still want to make the movies that are important to me that will help impact people's lives entertain people in one way, shape, or form. But they're very different than the dreams I started out with. Very, very, very different. So understand that. Things can change. Things can move around. other opportunities. Other things that you will discover along your path might make you happier. Other dreams might come in into your world, other things might want it like you might start off being wanting to be a screenwriter and you write and you write and you write and you write and all of a sudden you realize that I want to write a novel. And all of a sudden you discover that you love writing novels. And it's something you can do and all of a sudden doors are swinging open for you to be a novel writer. Where the screenwriting world the doors were closed, for some reason, at this point, and you go make off a novel and you write a novel and guess what that novel gets optioned in a studio to make a movie and guess what they're gonna call, they're gonna call you because you have a handle the screenwriting knowledge that I've been building up all these years, I want to write the screenplay of this. It happens, guys, but I want you from the bottom of my heart to prove all of those naysayers wrong. prove them all wrong. And the only way you're going to be able to do that is by work by hustle, the termination. educating yourself every single day, moving an inch forward every single day being willing to do things that others are not willing to do. That is what's going to make you succeed. I'll get I'll bring back Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan wins the one of his many championships. And guess what he's doing right after the championship? Once the stadium empties, and everyone's calm, and people are still partying, in the locker room, he's out on the court, practicing the shots that he missed. That's a true story, guys. He's doing things that others are willing to do. Are you willing to read two or three books a week? Are you willing to dedicate two hours three hours extra a day, to educating yourself on the filmmaking craft on the process on practicing filmmaking and practicing editing on learning a new skill that you could put in a toolbox a new tool to put in that toolbox? Are you willing to do it? Because that's what's going to help you prove them wrong. The power of you making your dream come true lives in your hands, not in anyone else's hands. I don't want to hear that. Oh, I'm not making I'm not getting the opportunities that I want. I'm not doing this. Make your own opportunities. That's what I did. I wasn't invited to the party, I wasn't invited to the big Hollywood party. I snuck in a couple times in the course of my career, but I wasn't invited. And you know what? I started to make my own party, I started to make my own path. It's not easy blazing your own path. But you know what, nobody else here has a lot less competition over here. It's great. And I'm happy. And I want that for you guys. So prove them wrong. So anytime you're feeling a little low, listen to this podcast. Hopefully it will light a fire in your butt to move forward and prove them wrong. Hope this episode helps you guys out. I really wanted to bring a little bit of positivity, and not just beat you up like I've been doing with all these tough love episodes, I wanted to give you an episode that really can help really set that fire in your belly, a flame. I want to turn that spark into an inferno. Because I truly, truly want you guys to succeed in whatever you're trying to do. Again, I might have some books for you to listen to in the show notes at indiefilmhustle.com/320 to help you along your journey. If you haven't already, please head over to filmmakingpodcast.com and leave a good review for the podcast. It truly truly helps us out a lot. And I have a couple things I'm working on in the indie film hustle lab. I'm cooking up some insane things for you. And you guys know when I say there's some stuff coming. You best believe that there's some stuff coming. So keep an eye out for that guys. And again, I hope that this episode really lit a fire in your stomach in your belly to prove them all wrong. And not to believe any of that crap. Because when you believe it, that's when it stops you when you don't believe in that kind of negative energy and that negative thoughts. That's when magic happens in your life. As always, keep that hustle going. Keep that dream alive. prove them wrong. And I'll talk to you soon.

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  1. Bulletproof Script Coverage – Get Your Screenplay Read by Hollywood Professionals
  2. AudibleGet a Free Filmmaking or Screenwriting Audiobook
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IFH 313: Why You Are Failing Your Filmmaking Dream

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WARNING: Listening to this episode might shake up your life. 

Seriously, on today’s episode, I get RAW and REAL with the tribe. This is by far one of the most impactful episodes I’ve ever recorded. Truth bombs will be dropped. Hearts may be broken. The purpose of this episode is to force you to confront some real and raw truths about your filmmaking journey. My hope is to help you not turn your filmmaking dreams into filmmaking nightmares.

Watch this video for some inspiration before you listen to the episode.

These are questions that I have asked myself on multiple occasions. These questions have helped me refine and sharpen my filmmaking dream. I hope it does the same for you. Prepare yourself. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. = )

Alex Ferrari 2:33
Now guys, today is going to be a rough episode for many of you. This episode is going to be a mega truth bomb for many of you. And I wanted to put this together because I've kind of been you know me, I've been analyzing I've been studying and kind of just going deeper and deeper and deeper, not only within myself, but also in many of the filmmakers I work with. And I see patterns and I wanted to kind of bring it up in this episode. So the first thing I'm noticing and I think everybody listening will understand is all filmmakers want to have success in their career. Whether that is making big budget studio films, or personal little indie films. We all want some sort of success in our film. We all want to be able to make a living doing what we love to do. We all want to have respect from the film industry from our peers. We all want to pick up that phone pitch an idea and get financing with complete creative control on that film or project you are pitching. Most filmmakers want fans who love their work. They want mega fans of their films. They want conventions to be created around their films. And the fans celebrate their films. Many filmmakers want that many filmmakers want to win Sundance Cannes, Toronto or even the ultimate filmmaking prize. And Oscar. filmmakers love that it's easy to love that it's easy to want that and to live in that. If you ask filmmakers or screenwriters, what they want out of their career, most of them will say something like I just said, but I hate to tell you, but that means nothing. The better question you need to ask yourself is, what pain Do you want in your life? What are you willing to struggle for? Knowing that answer will have a much greater impact on your life and career than you'll ever know. I know a lot of you are going Alex, what are you talking about? What pain Do you want in life? Let me explain. Every one wants to be a great filmmaker or a great screenwriter. But not everyone is willing to suffer through the 1000s of hours it takes to learn their craft. Not everybody wants to write 10 or 20 screenplays. Before they sell a produced the next one, not every filmmaker wants to hustle on us on a set as a PA and wake up at three o'clock in the morning, to get there before everybody else does to make coffee, to learn to, to pay their dues to learn from other people watching them on the set to watch other masters, you know, master their craft in front of you to learn from them. They don't want to go through those hours, they don't want to go through that pain that struggle. Not everyone wants to make 30 short films that no one will ever see that teach themselves the craft of filmmaking. This is exactly what Robert Rodriguez said before he did El Mariachi, not everybody wants to put in the time, gather some friends and actors to come together to make a film with little or no budget, and have to deal with egos and personality and production problems and then trying to get the movie shown to people in Film Festival submissions and rejections and then trying to find a distributor to get the money back that you that you pulled together some magical way to get that going. Not everybody wants to do that. filmmakers and screenwriters want to be successful, but many without taking any risk. Without the sacrifice, without putting in the time it takes to be a success in their field. All screen martyrs won a million dollar sale from one of their screenplays. But not many of them are willing to take the rejection after rejection from agents and the business and producers. All filmmakers want to make a living, doing what they love to do, but don't want to deal with learning how to raise money, or marketing or distributing their films, or how to build a base or any of that stuff. Happiness requires struggle. how good you are at handling those negative experiences will determine a lot. Our life is not determined by the good experiences we have. That's super easy. We all love good experiences. We all want positive experiences in our life. It's easy to deal with that. It's easy to get up there and get the award at that Film Festival. What's not easy is making that movie, going through all the negative experiences that you have to go through to get there. Our lives and careers are determined on how well we handle negative experiences. The rejections, the naysayers, your parents or spouse that don't believe in you, your friends that think you're crazy, that agent that will return your call that film that doesn't get into Sundance, it is your ability to handle those negative experiences that will take you to the positive ones. We all want to have an amazing body. But not many are willing to wake up early every day and hit the gym five to six times a week, change all their eating habits and make better choices in their lives. We all want that amazing body. We all want the six pack. Not everybody's willing to put in the work. We all want to be the rock. We all want to be making millions upon millions of dollars and have millions of fans adored and following you not saying all of us but many of us want something like that. But man did he put in the work man did he put in the hustle for decades for time and years. That is the difference between people who make their dreams come true. And those who just sit around fantasizing about their dreams. I don't know about you, but I could sit for hours dreaming, fantasizing about my filmmaking dreams about my screenwriting dreams about being up there and getting the award How many of you listening have made an Oscar speech into the mirror? I know Don't laugh. Don't laugh. I know a few of you have. Because we all have in one point or another. How many of you have fantasize about selling that million dollar script or getting that phone call getting that check and showing it to your wife or your husband? showing it to your family to go Hey, look, I did it. All those naysayers, all those? All that negative crap you threw at me here? shove it up your butt. I made it. How many of you fantasize about that? Well, that's easy. It's wonderful to be in that world, isn't it? It's wonderful to think about the amazing spouse that you'll get with, that's perfect for you. But you're not maybe not willing to do everything it takes to attract that perfect spouse into your life. What's hard, is getting up and doing something every day to get you closer to that dream, regardless of the outcome. Regardless, if you succeed, or if you fail, as long as you learn and move forward. That's all that matters. Are you willing to fail? Are you willing to take the risks needed to succeed in your career or in your life? Will you be that bitter filmmaker or sorry Ryder just making excuses why they never made it. Will you be those guys those filmmakers who blame everybody, everybody else for why they didn't make it? Why didn't he get that chance to make it? Or will you make the decision right now, to change, to change your habits, to make a commitment to learn something new every day. The faster you learn, the faster you earn. Say that again. The faster you learn, the faster you earn. You will earn more in your life, you will earn more in your career, the faster you're able to learn something, to put it in your toolbox to build new tools to grab new tools and put them in those toolboxes. Are you willing right now to get up early and work out? Are you willing to get into the best physical shape of your life to meditate every day? So you can be more centered and creative? The question is, what are you willing to do to make your dream come true? What pain Do you want in your life? What struggle Are you willing to endure to reach the mountaintop that you want to reach? getting good at dealing with negative experiences, is getting good with dealing with life, not just this business. But life. If you want to be a rock star, you can't just want to be up on the stage and getting all those fans and all those yells and cheers and applause. You got to want the hours of pain, learning the guitar, let's say the countless late nights of playing and dive bars, dealing with other people's egos, bandmates egos and attitudes and dealing with the never ending rejections of the music business. You got to want that you've got to be able to endure that. Because that's what's gonna get you to that stage. That's what's going to get you to the applause and to whatever other reasons you want to be up on that stage. If you find yourself wanting to be a screenwriter, or filmmaker, month after month, year after year, but nothing is happening, then maybe you actually don't want it. Maybe you just actually want the fantasy. Maybe you don't want what you want. Maybe you just enjoy wanting the dream. Living in that fantasy, that ever intoxicating fantasy. I promise you that this filmmaking dream, this screenwriting dream will not be pain free. It won't be all unicorns and rainbows. Wanting success is easy. We all want some sort of success in our lives. The question is, what pain Do you want in your life? What is the pain that you are willing to sustain? If you can answer that, then you are on the path to making your dream come true. Are you in love with the result of the dream? And that actually the process of getting there? Be honest with yourself? Because if you don't answer this question soon, and honestly, tomorrow, you will wake up and you will be 70 bitter, angry at the world for not giving you your dream. Don't be that person. If you're not in love with the process of screenwriting or filmmaking, then you will fail at it. You need to love the journey, not the destination. It's like having a dream of getting to the top of Mount Everest. But discovering that you really don't like the climb a whole hell of a lot. You want the reward, but not the struggle, not the process of getting there. This career, this life does not work that way. Your success is defined by what you're willing to struggle for. screenwriters who write and write and have 20 to 30 screenplays in their desk drawer finished are the ones who get an agent who make that sale. filmmakers who direct short after short, or micro budget film after micro budget film and learn along the way, are the ones who build a career. The ones who embrace the craziness and uncertainty of the film business are the ones who make it. Our struggles, determine our successes. Choose your struggles, choose the pain you want to endure wisely. I've been enduring pain for 20 odd years in this business and sometimes buckled me to my knees to the point where I couldn't get up that I might have left the business for a little bit. But at the end, I kept going. Just like rocky says, if I may quote the famous Rocky Balboa, it's about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward. That is what life is. That is what this business is. We are all writing a book of our lives. Each day, each experience and decision is another entry in that book. When your last chapter is written, what will it say about your decisions, your dreams, and your life? I hope that lit a fire under your butts today, guys, I think this is a good episode to listen to. And listen to often, it will hopefully fire you up, it will hopefully guide you and give you that motivation to keep moving forward day in, day out. I want you to make me a promise that you're going to ask these questions to yourself, and be honest with yourself. Because I've seen so many filmmakers waste their lives. Because they didn't answer the question. What pain Do you want in your life? What struggle Are you willing to endure to get to your dream? What risks what calculated risks are you willing to take to get to your dream? What uncertainty Are you willing to put up with? To make it in this business? You have to answer these questions, honestly. Because if you don't, like I said before, you're gonna wake up tomorrow, and you're going to be 70 bitter and angry at everyone. Don't be that guy. Don't be that girl. All right. Thank you for listening. I hope this episode is of service to you and also promised me something else. If you liked this episode, please share it with somebody you know who needs to hear it. I need to get this out there. I want this to help as many filmmakers, screenwriters or anybody in this world that I can help. So if you know somebody who needs to hear this truth, then please share this episode, share the YouTube video, share the link, which is indiefilmhustle.com/313. Share it to anybody in our new book, everybody that you know that needs it. I appreciate you guys. I appreciate everything you do for me on a daily basis. I appreciate all the emails and messages and goodwill that you send me. And I hope I'm returning that to you guys with the work that I'm doing on a daily basis. Thank you guys again. So so so much. And as always, keep that hustle going. Keep that dream alive. And I'll talk to you soon.

YOUTUBE VIDEO

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SPONSORS

  1. Bulletproof Script Coverage – Get Your Screenplay Read by Hollywood Professionals
  2. AudibleGet a Free Filmmaking or Screenwriting Audiobook
  3. Rev.com – $1.25 Closed Captions for Indie Filmmakers – Rev ($10 Off Your First Order)